Guidelines for
Members of the Unification Church in Relations with the Jewish People

Peter Ross and Andrew Wilson

God is the source of all love, goodness and peace. The purpose of
religion is to lead humanity to live in a world of love, goodness and
peace. Therefore it is God's will that religions cooperate with one
another to foster these ends. Yet the tragic history of conflict
between religions and religiously motivated bigotry has often
frustrated God's purpose for religion as an instrument of peace, and
has made much religion a testimony against, rather than for, God's
reality. In the past there have been serious misunderstandings
between Judaism and the Unification Church. In order to clarify these
difficulties and guide Unification Church members in their relations
with Jews, the Unification Church suggests the following guidelines:

1. The Unification Church
Condemns Anti-Semitism

Among those who have suffered most heavily from religious bigotry
is undoubtedly the Jewish people. Anti-Semitism has been sadly
recounted and repeated in the pages of history, time and time again.
Now, in a welcome development, Christians and others are recognizing
the sin of anti-Semitism and religious bigotry and are working to
educate people to this dark side of their history.

As a Christian movement, the Unification Church accepts that the
history of Christian anti-Semitism is also its legacy. Like all
Christians, we are responsible to face this history and work to
eliminate its causes. Reverend Moon has stated: "The Unification
Movement categorically condemns anti-Semitism, the most hideous,
abject and cruel form of hatred."[1] We urge all Unificationists
to become familiar with the history of anti-Semitism and its causes.

Sadly, the Christian Church over the past 2,000 years has been a
major instigator of anti-Semitism. Church leaders encouraged laws
restricting the rights and liberties of Jews. At the time of the
Crusades, and again with the Inquisition, hundreds of thousands of
Jews were killed or forced to become refugees in the name of Christ.
Retellings of Jesus' passion so influenced the ignorant peasantry
that Jews would dread Easter week more than any other time of year
and hide themselves in their homes. Some Christians believed it an
act of charity to take Jewish children away from their parents,
baptize them and raise them in a monastery.

All this, and much more, is indelibly engraved in the collective
memory of the Jewish people. Is it any wonder that Jews have deep-
rooted sensitivities concerning Christians and their teachings? As a
church seeking to lead and revitalize Christianity, we should fight
anti-Semitism, especially where it infects our own Christian
inheritance. Certain of the roots of the Nazi Holocaust can be traced
to centuries of anti-Semitic prejudice fostered by the Church. This
paved the way for the failure of the Christians of Europe to exercise
moral vigilance against this particular evil. Reverend Moon has
stated:

We regard the murder of six million Jews in Europe to be the
result of . . . lack of moral responsibility on the part of Germany's
political and religious leaders, and statesmen from among other
nations, in the period between the two World Wars. Ignoring the basic
teachings of the Scriptures, they acted too late to block Hitler's
ascent to power, they postponed the action for his downfall, and they
did nothing to rescue the victims who were the captives of his
satanic plans and designs. Only a unified front of all Christian and
Jewish forces, inspired by the principles of the divine commandments
and guided by the concept of human brotherhood, would have been able
to prevent the Holocaust.[2]

The World Wars are described in Unification teaching as struggles
at the consummation of Christian history which were made necessary by
repeated human failures.[3] Just as we teach that the spread of
Communism has been abetted by the failure of Christianity to provide
properly for the poor according to Jesus' teachings, so we should
understand that the Nazi Holocaust was substantially abetted by the
failure of Christianity to properly regard and respect the Jews.
Instead of practicing Jesus' teachings of love and respect for the
dignity of all people, Christians typically stigmatized the Jews as
Christ-killers, reprobates and shysters. Centuries of Christian anti-
Semitism sowed the seeds of contempt for Jews which bore fruit in the
Holocaust. However, such an education is not adequate, by itself, to
eliminate all prejudice. We regard the most important defense against
anti-Semitism to be a purified religious life that is firmly
separated from evil and in a good give-and-take relationship with the
living God. As Reverend Moon has said,

As far as I know, God is not sectarian. He is not obsessed with
minor details of doctrine. We should quickly liberate ourselves from
blind attachment to doctrines and rituals, and instead focus on
living communication with God. I think we urgently need to purify the
religious atmosphere into one in which believers can have living
faith and every soul can communicate with God. In God's parental
Heart and His great love, there is no discrimination based on color
or nationality. There are no barriers between countries or cultural
traditions, between East and West, North and South. God is trying to
embrace the whole of humankind as His children.[4]

All feelings of hatred, jealousy and prejudice which feed
anti-Semitic violence come from people whose religion is corrupt, and
who are in reality serving Satan through their private lusts and
desires (James 4:1). As Christians, we rely on the gift of salvation
through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we cannot
rest contented with that, and must continue to struggle throughout
our lives to separate from the bondage of sin and seek to attain the
high standard of love which Jesus set for us.[5] Only through a life
of prayer and unselfish giving to others, giving ourselves wholly to
God, do we receive the dominion of God's sanctifying love. If we live
in the realm of God's love, feeling close to the heart of Jesus, we
can readily follow his example and love the stranger or even the
enemy who persecutes us (Matt 5:44). In such a faith there is no room
for anti- Semitism or prejudice of any kind.

2. The Teachings of the
Principle and Anti-Semitism

As Christians, and as a church that regards itself as a lineal
descendant of biblical Judaism, Unification teaching must speak about
the Jews as an historical people graced by God's providence and who
participated in the events surrounding the life and death of the
Messiah Jesus. Hence we do not meet Jews simply as members of another
religion; they are our brothers with whom we share, at least in part,
a common history. It is essential, therefore, for the sake of a
healthy relationship, that we clarify the Unification Church's view
of the Jews and Judaism.

In order to encourage people to live a God-centered life that
fosters love for all peoples of the world, the Unification Movement
teaches a doctrine called "the Principle."[6] The purpose
of this Principle is to guide people to establish God's ideal, which
is "for human beings to love God as their Parent and to live in
brotherhood as one extended family . . . that will create a
one-family world society."[7] There is no room whatsoever in the
Principle for the teachings of anti- Semitism.

There have been several textbooks explaining the Principle,
written by some of Reverend Moon's disciples. These include "Wol-li
Hae-sul" (Explanation of The Principle) by Hyo Won Eu (Korea,
1957); "Wol-li Kang-ron" (Discourse on The Principle) by
Hyo Won Eu (Korea, 1966); "Divine Principle and its Application"
by Young Oon Kim (Washington, 1969); "Divine Principle"
(Washington, 1973), an English translation of "Wol-li Kang-ron";
and "The Divine Principle Study Guide" by Young Whi Kim
(Tarrytown, NY, 1973, 1975).[8] The current official teaching manual
of Unification doctrine is "Outline of the Principle" by
Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak (New York, 1980). We recognize that none of
these texts are adequate to fully convey the Principle; they
represent the considerable yet imperfect understanding of the
Principle by these disciples of Reverend Moon, conveyed with all the
limitations of culture and language.[9]

The Principle has definite teachings about the Jewish people as
they participated in God's providence throughout the Bible. All the
textbooks on the Principle rely upon the New Testament accounts of
Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. Given that the New Testament itself
contains anti-Jewish language and sayings, and that the early
disciples of Rev. Moon who wrote the textbooks on the Principle were
Koreans who had no contact with Jews or awareness of the problem of
anti-Semitism in Christian teaching, it is not surprising that some
Unification texts contain language that has been alleged to be anti-
Semitic. However, the Principle itself is a teaching of love and
respect for all humankind, whose purpose is to bring an end to all
hate, bigotry and evil. Hence there is no room in its teachings for
anti-Semitism in any form. Further, it is necessary, indeed
essential, to teach the Principle without making any statements which
might foster anti-Semitism. In particular, we note that in the
current official textbook of Church doctrine, Outline of the
Principle, efforts have been made to avoid language that could be
seen as objectionable to Jews and others.

3. Present-Day Judaism is not
Identical with the Judaism of the Bible

As a first step towards eliminating any lingering prejudice within
the Unification Church, members are well advised to encounter Judaism
as a living faith. There is a spiritual wealth in Jewish culture and
tradition, from the prophets of Israel to the sages of the Talmud and
the great rabbis and philosophers of every age. Reverend Moon has
affirmed "the natural right of the Jewish people to physical
survival and preservation of its specific religious traditions, the
marks of its distinctive historical entity."[10] These
traditions have been formed to a large extent during the past two
thousand years since New Testament times. Judaism has evolved, and
modern Judaism has changed to a considerable degree from the religion
of biblical Israel.

We should not, therefore, regard statements about Jews in the New
Testament to be accurate depictions of modern Jews. New Testament
portrayals of Judaism as a religion of legalism, for example, do not
fit with most observant Jews' belief that the Law is the means which
God has given them to live a life which is sanctified in His grace.
Neither do they describe the great majority of liberal, non-observant
Jews for whom many of the specific commandments of the Law are
irrelevant. Furthermore, we should recognize that many New Testament
statements are caricatures and polemics born of a time of intense
conflict between the young Christian sect and Jewish leadership,
which itself was struggling to survive after the destruction of the
Temple in 70 A.D. Hypocrisy is not an exclusive preserve of the
Pharisees; the Principle regards it as a failing common to religious
people generally.[11]

We should understand that Jews reject all messianic claims about
Jesus for what they believe to be valid reasons in accordance with
their faith. For instance, Jews do not accept the common Christian
belief that Jesus, or any human being, can be God. Jews understand as
the mission of the Messiah to realize the earthly fulfillment the
biblical promises to establish a world of lasting peace, where God
would dwell in the hearts of all people (Isa 2:2-4, 11:1-9; Jer
31:33-34), but Jesus did not complete these promises; the world
remains unredeemed. Hence the Jew rejects the claims that Jesus is
divine and that Jesus is the Messiah. (Interestingly,
Unificationists, while affirming Jesus' messianic role, agree with
certain aspects of the Jewish view about the Messiah's mission.)

Furthermore, Unificationists should not believe that all Jews are
still anxiously waiting for the Messiah to come, as it may appear
from the Bible. Many Jews today are resigned to living without a
Messiah, giving their attention to the work of God in the world
rather than to what so far has been a vain future hope.
Unificationists can better appreciate the richness of Jewish faith by
encounter and dialogue with today's Jews. This is one reason why
Reverend Moon encouraged the Unification Theological Seminary to
appoint a learned rabbi to its faculty -- to give students a
first-hand exposure to Judaism. Dialogue begins from an attitude that
respects every religion as having its own unique understanding of God
and of human life in relationship to God. The one God speaks to the
world through every religious tradition. As stated in Outline of the
Principle,

All people are to be God's children, and God Himself has created
and guided all of the major religions toward the restoration of the
people of their particular region, time period, and
circumstances.[12]

Hence we should respect and understand Judaism, as any living
religion, on its own terms.

4. The Crucifixion and the
Jews

In recent years, the mainline Christian churches have had to re-
examine and reject the traditional teaching that the Jews crucified
Jesus. This charge of "deicide" became a cause for much
anti-Semitism throughout history. Such traditions have also
influenced some older Unification texts:

It was because, against God's will, they did not believe that
Jesus was the Messiah, that the Israelites crucified him.[13]

This is an error in presenting the Principle. According to the New
Testament, it was the Romans who actually crucified Jesus, not the
Jews. Crucifixion was not considered a proper manner of execution
according to Jewish law.[14] Crucifixion was, however, the standard
Roman penalty for political subversives and revolutionaries, and
Pilate often crucified Jews whom he considered dangerous to Roman
rule. Jesus was not condemned to death as a religious heretic, but
rather as a political subversive who threatened Roman authority, as
the title "King of the Jews" placed over his cross
indicated.

The current official textbook, "Outline of the Principle",
has been corrected on this point. This text never says that the Jews
crucified Jesus. Rather, it states that Jesus was rejected by many of
his people and that certain Jewish leaders plotted against him. Had a
sufficient number of influential Jews believed and followed Jesus,
Jesus would not have had to go the way of the cross. Jesus needed a
foundation of faithful followers from amongst the leaders of the
chosen people in order to become the Messianic king, but he did not
find such faith, and hence was vulnerable to attack.[15] Reverend
Moon teaches that Jewish leaders and the Roman authorities united to
crucify Jesus. The power of church and state cooperated to condemn
him:

Think of Jesus at his crucifixion on the cross. The people were
rebellious children. The Israelites and Roman soldiers were laughing
and scornful of him, even piercing him with a spear; yet instead of
cursing them, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do."[16]

Reverend Moon also describes the faithlessness of Jesus'
disciples, notably Judas Iscariot and Peter, as contributing to the
tragedy of the crucifixion.[17] Thus we should understand that in the
events that led to Jesus's death, one of Jesus's own disciples -- in
other words a Christian[18] -- betrayed him, another disciple denied
him three times, certain Jewish leaders secretly tried and condemned
him, and the Roman authorities crucified him. The only proper
theological conclusion which can be drawn is that representatives of
all humanity: Christians, Jews and Gentiles together, participated in
the murder of Jesus.

5. The Fact That Jesus of
Nazareth Was Not Accepted as Messiah Was Not Due to the People's Lack
Of Faith In God.

The Principle considers the fact that Jesus was not accepted to be
mainly due to people's lack of understanding as to who he was. Since
many Jews were longing for the Messiah, they would certainly have
received Jesus had they believed him to be the promised one. When
Principle texts refer to the "faithlessness" of the Jews,
"faithlessness" translates the Korean "mitom",
"not to trust someone." Hence, we should distinguish faith
in God from faith in Jesus. Those who refused to follow Jesus were
"faithless" only in respect to Jesus, not in respect to God
(though of course it was God's will that they believe in Jesus,
according to the Principle). Thus Outline of the Principle states:

When Jesus came two thousand years ago, there was great faith --
of a sort -- among the people. Some prayed day and night in the
temple, and they memorized the commandments. They tried hard to keep
all of the commandments and laws that God had ordered them to keep.
They faithfully offered their tithes, and they fasted. In this sense,
they had great faith in God, yet there was no true faith. Why didn't
they have a faith that would allow them to believe in Jesus as the
Messiah sent by God?[19]

Why indeed did so many Israelites of Jesus' day not believe Jesus
to be the Messiah sent by God? Why did many not know who he was? In
answering this question, the Principle places the primary
responsibility for the acceptance or non-acceptance of Jesus on the
shoulders of a few leaders, and most especially on John the Baptist.
John was "the main factor that prevented the people of Israel
from coming to Jesus".[20] This was so for two reasons.

First, many Jews were expecting the return of Elijah to guide them
to the Messiah, and according to the gospel of Matthew (17:10) they
were perplexed that Jesus would proclaim himself the Messiah without
Elijah having appeared. Jesus declared that John the Baptist was
Elijah (Matt 17:10-13, Matt 11:14), but John himself denied it (John
1:21), creating confusion in the minds of the people.[21] Jesus was
an obscure young man raised in a humble carpenter's home and was not
known to be experienced in spiritual disciplines . . . [while] John
was the son of a prominent family, and . . . led an exemplary life as
a man of faith. . . . Under these circumstances, the people of Israel
tended to believe more in John the Baptist, who asserted he was not
Elijah, than in Jesus, who told them that John the Baptist was
Elijah. The people decided that Jesus' view of John as Elijah was
untrustworthy, thinking that Jesus said this only to make believable
his claims about himself.[22]

Second, the Principle teaches that after God gave John the Baptist
a revelation at the Jordan River that Jesus was the messianic person,
John was supposed to follow Jesus and lead all Israel to him. John
was a man prepared in every way to lead the people to the messianic
person of Jesus:

Many of the chief priests and people of Israel who respected John
the Baptist thought that he might be the Messiah. Therefore, if
John... had testified that Jesus was the Messiah, the Jewish people
of that time would have been able to recognize and receive Jesus.[23]

Despite the fact that John did testify that Jesus was the Messiah
when they met at the Jordan River, the Principle insists that John
never followed Jesus, never became a disciple of Jesus, and never
taught his many disciples to recognize Jesus as sent by God and so to
follow him. Finally, John doubted who Jesus was (Matt 11:3).[24] Yet
many Jewish people of that day respected John the Baptist as one who
could guide them. Without John's active support, the message that
Jesus was the promised Messiah was barely heard, and if heard, then
rarely believed, by the leaders of the people. Therefore, the
Principle regards the failure of John the Baptist to be the primary
reason why there was not a sufficient foundation for Jesus among the
people and leaders of Israel. As a result, Jesus was left unprotected
except for a motley band of disciples, and hence he was liable to
suffer crucifixion. [John's] personal ignorance and disbelief led not
only to his individual loss, but also to the disbelief of most of the
people and ultimately to Jesus' crucifixion.[25]

We should regard the Israelites who were uninformed about Jesus or
who failed to receive him as victims of poor leadership. It is a
serious error, therefore, to accuse the Jewish people as a whole of
having willfully disbelieved and rejected their Messiah.

6. The Suffering of the Jews
is not a Punishment from God.

Beyond the specific event of the crucifixion looms a second
difficult issue for Christians and Unificationists: the claim that
the Jews are deserving of divine punishment for having rejected Jesus
as their Messiah. This false and pernicious teaching has in the past
led to Christian complicity in and justification for persecuting
Jews. Statements in older Unification texts such as the following are
particularly misleading and inaccurate because they can easily be
misinterpreted to support such a view:

due to the Jewish people's disbelief in Jesus, all were sentenced
to hell;[26]

because they delivered Jesus to be crucified... the chosen nation
was scattered;[27]

and

from the moment of their rebellion against Jesus, who appeared as
the Messiah, God was compelled to deliver them, His elect, into the
hands of Satan. Thus God, together with His son, who was betrayed by
the Israelites, had to abandon and turn against His chosen
nation;[28]

Such statements are nowhere to be found in the the current text,
Outline of the Principle. The claim that the suffering of the Jews is
divine punishment is not a teaching that is intrinsic to the
Principle. Let us look at this question in more detail. From a
superficial viewpoint, it might seem that the theme of Jewish guilt
comes more to the fore in Unification teaching than in other
Christian theologies, for we believe that the mission of Jesus was
frustrated -- not fulfilled as many Christians believe -- by his
early death on the cross. The mission which God had called Jesus to
fulfill was to erect the earthly kingdom of God on the base of
support of the people of Israel. The Jewish people of Jesus's day, we
believe, were meant to cooperate with Jesus to build the kingdom.
Hence Unification theology considers the people's lack of cooperation
with Jesus to have been a serious mistake, with impact on subsequent
world history.[29]

The Principle then teaches that the result of that mistake has
been suffering for all humankind, of which Jewish suffering is only
one portion. According to the Principle, the kingdom of God on earth
which was to be established by Jesus would have been an ideal world,
where all people would have lived in harmony as brothers and sisters
in the bosom of God's love, fulfilling the biblical prophecies of
God's peaceable kingdom. Thus, had Jesus been received, there would
have been an end not only to the suffering of the Jews under Rome,
but also to the suffering of all people. But because the work of
Jesus was cut short, the world's sinful history, replete with
warfare, oppression and suffering, has continued unchecked.

The suffering of the Jewish people since the time of Jesus should
be viewed not as a special punishment, but rather as only one tragic,
though major, facet of the world's continued suffering after the
failure to establish the kingdom of God at the time of Jesus. Thus,
the Principle regards the continued suffering of the Jews and of all
humanity since the crucifixion of Jesus to be a tragedy, not a
punishment. Such suffering was never God's will. "Outline of the
Principle" describes Jesus' anguish in the Garden of Gesthemane
as anguish over the fate of Jew and Christian alike:

His heart was so troubled because he knew how sorrowful God would
feel if the completion of the dispensation for salvation were
delayed. Jesus also foresaw the sufferings and bloodshed that would
come to his followers, the Christians, who would have to follow his
path of suffering and the cross. He also anguished over the troubled
future that would come to the people of Israel . . . [30]

Jesus and God the Father have both anguished over the tragic
suffering of the Jewish people, just as they have anguished over the
Christian martyrs. Hence there is no place in the Principle for a
doctrine that Jewish suffering has been divine punishment. We should
look upon Jewish suffering in the same noble light that we regard
Christian martyrdom. Jews, as well as Christians, have been bearing
the cross, following the way of sacrifice that was pioneered by
Christ himself. Jewish suffering, like Christian suffering, can be
borne as indemnity that restores Jew and Christian alike to God and
heals the sins of the world.[31] Jews may, through suffering, fulfil
the role of God's suffering servant (Isa 53), bringing light and
healing to the nations. Reverend Moon specifically likens Jewish
suffering to the cross of Christ. In a sermon, he tells of meeting a
Jewish shopkeeper in New York City who asked him why his people have
suffered throughout history. He gives this reply to the congregation:

Restoration takes place according to the law of indemnity, and
God's purpose is the restoration of all mankind. Some people, like
Jesus, are in the position to sacrifice for the sake of the world.
The Jews as well are in a position to help God restore billions of
people around the world. . . .

Among the religions of the world, the Jews have suffered the most
because God's loved ones are always in a position to be a sacrifice.
Because God allowed such suffering to come to the Jews, God expected
them to be the strongest, most understanding and most united
religious people. Who shall play the central role in uniting all
religions? God hand picked the Jews and trained them for that role.
This is my explanation on the suffering of the Jews from the
dispensational point of view; their oppression was not a punishment
from God, but was the same glorious sacrificial role that Jesus was
given in order to complete the restoration of mankind.[32]

This is far from one common orthodox Christian position,
represented by the theologian Karl Barth, who wrote that the
positions of Israel and the church were bifurcated, the former for
suffering and the latter for glory.[33] Jews and Christians are
brothers and should walk the path of indemnity together, as fellow
witnesses to God. There is no better illustration of this than their
similar fates at the hands of totalitarian regimes, Nazi and
Communist, where Jews and, to a lesser degree, professing Christians
suffered merciless persecution.

Next we should address the question, which arises in the minds of
Unificationists, as to whether the Jews of today are responsible to
restore the mistake of Jewish leaders of Jesus' day who failed to
follow him and protect his ministry.

The Unification doctrine of restoration through indemnity requires
that every historical failure in God's providence must be indemnified
at a later time, in order to clear up all past conditions of sin that
act as barriers to the dawning of God's kingdom. However, the
Principle also teaches that when one central person or people fails
its responsibility, God chooses another person or people to carry out
the Will, both to indemnify the first failure and push on to the
final, universal goal. On the analogy of a relay race, one can say
that when one runner stumbles, the baton is passed to the next runner
in the course of providential history, who runs in order to gain the
prize which the whole team will share.

Specifically, the Principle teaches that God chose Christianity to
bear responsibility for the sin of rejecting Jesus and delivering him
to be crucified. According to the Unification teaching on
"Providential Time Identity", Christianity of the past 2000
years has followed a course parallel to the course of the Jewish
people from the time of Abraham to the time of Jesus in the position
of a "second Israel."[34] When discussing the collective
sin of humanity resulting from the crucifixion, Outline of the
Principle says as follows:

Though a relatively small group of people were directly
responsible for the crucifixion, Christianity, in particular, and
mankind as a whole, have had to bear responsibility for that sin and
as a result have suffered greatly.[35]

Today, we must recognize that God holds all people, and especially
we Unificationists, responsible to bear the burden of humanity's past
sin of failing to receive Jesus during his lifetime. There is,
according to the Principle, a sense in which the identity of each
individual is bound up with the collectivities of which he or she is
a part and extends vertically to include his or her ancestors and
descendants. We should therefore regard the sin of rejecting and
murdering Christ as though each one of us today also participated in
that sin. In particular, Unificationists, as modern day followers of
Christ, may be liable to the same faithlessness and cowardice as John
the Baptist when he disbelieved in Jesus and Peter when he denied his
lord three times. Each Unificationist, therefore, should feel
personally responsible, believing that his or her own actions will
determine whether or not God's representative will be crucified once
again.

If we can see God's will as our own responsibility, and that will
includes bearing the burden of humanity's past sins, then we should
personally repent for the sins of the past and never make the error
of transferring our own sense of guilt onto another, particularly
onto the Jewish people. Of course Jewish people, in solidarity with
all humankind and especially as God's chosen people, remain
responsible for their own restoration, and specifically to receive
the Messiah. The opportunity for this restoration arises anew at the
time of the Second Coming, when the Messiah comes to fulfill the
purpose of all religions.[36]

7. The Continuing Role of the
Jews as God's Chosen People

It should be clear from the above discussion that the Principle
sees a continuing role for the Jews as a people of God. This is in
accord with the view of Paul in Romans: "God has not rejected
His people whom He foreknew . . . for the gifts and the call of God
are irrevocable." (Rom 11:2, 29). The Jews continue to live in
God's grace.

The Principle affirms that God guides all the world's religions,
including Judaism:

God Himself has created and guided all of the major religions
toward the restoration of the people of their particular region, time
period, and circumstances.[37]

But Judaism is more than just one of the great world religions. It
is a religion chosen for a central role in the providence of God.
Reverend Moon has declared that Judaism is the elder brother to
Christianity and the Unification Church. In his 1976 Washington
Monument address he stated:

Judaism, centered upon the Old Testament, was the first work of
God and is in an elder brother's position. Christianity, centered
upon the New Testament, is in the position of the second brother. The
Unification Church, through which God has given a new revelation, the
Completed Testament, is in the position of the youngest brother.
These three religions are indeed three brothers in the providence of
God. Then Israel, the United States and Korea, the nations where
these three religions are based, must also be brothers.

These three brother nations must join hands in a unified effort .
. . to contribute internally to the unification of world religions
and externally to the unification of the world itself.[38]

Significantly, Reverend Moon relates Judaism both to the Old
Testament and to the State of Israel, thereby implying that there is
a continuity between the Judaism of the Bible and the Judaism of
today. Israel's election as God's chosen people is a status which
continues from biblical times to the present and on to the end of
history. Now, however, other religions have joined the ranks of
chosen religions. Just as in any family the eldest child does not
lose the parents' love when the younger children are born, so
Judaism, as the eldest in the family of God's central religions, did
not cease to be God's chosen people when its younger sibling
religions came into being. As the eldest religion of God's central
dispensation, Judaism deserves our respect and love. Their covenant
with God endures alongside whatever faith God has given to us.

Reverend Moon's statement also connects the Jewish people's
election with a divine purpose, namely to contribute to God's ideal
of a unified world family of nations and religions. The Jewish
people, along with their Christian and Unificationist brothers and
sisters, were chosen for the sake of all humanity, as it is written,
"in you [Abraham] all the families of the earth shall be
blessed" (Gen 12:3). Unification theology emphasizes the
traditional Jewish and Christian notion that election is not for
privilege but for service. The chosen people do not enjoy an easy
life, rather they are put through more hardship and bear more
suffering for the sake of realizing God's will in the world.
Originally, when only Israel was the chosen people, their
responsibility in God's providence was to offer themselves as God's
servants. But in the present situation where God has elected several
brother religions, each responsible to do God's will, these religions
must also join together in friendship and cooperation as befits the
children of the same divine Parent.[39]

There is, however, a second, specialized meaning of election in
the Principle: election to be the religion or nation to first receive
the Messiah and participate in his work of restoration. In this
eschatological sense of election, Israel, according to the Principle,
has in fact lost its position as God's chosen people. The Messiah,
being a particular individual, must begin his work from one
particular nation, religion and culture. There cannot be two or three
'landing sites' for the Messiah; God must inevitably have him appear
in one place. That place, according to Unification teachings, will be
among Christians. Since one of the Principle's chief concerns is to
prepare people to receive the Messiah at the Second Coming,
considerable space is devoted to this eschatological meaning of
election in Unification texts. The distinction here is only a
temporal one. Unification theology has a universal conception of the
role of the returning Messiah. The coming of the Lord to Christianity
is only a first stage in a mission to bring God's blessings to the
entire world, including the Jews. As stated in Outline of the
Principle:

The Lord does not come to save Christians alone. While Christians
are the central nation in God's dispensation, all people are to be
God's children, and God Himself has created and guided all of the
major religions toward the restoration of the people of their
particular region, time period, and circumstances. Therefore, the
Messiah, who is to accomplish the ultimate purpose of God's
dispensation, must simultaneously fulfill the purpose of all other
religions[40]

The entire world is the object of God's love and concern, and
therefore the Messiah, beginning from a particular nation and
religion, will gain the cooperation of peoples of all nations and
religions in a movement for world salvation. In fulfilling the
purposes of all religions, the Messiah will not violate their
integrity. The unique character of each religious tradition will
continue, thereby adding variety and depth to the whole, as all
humankind joins in one great family of God.

Unificationists have run into difficulties in the past when they
have confused these two distinct senses of election. When examining
the question, "Where will Christ come again?", most
expositions of the Principle draw upon the parable of the wicked
tenants in Matthew 21 and Paul's discussion in Romans 9-11 in
supporting the assertion that Israel has lost its position as God's
central chosen nation and that Christianity inherited the role as the
second Israel. The text Divine Principle, in its exegesis of Matthew
21, calls the vineyard, which God takes away from the tenants (the
Jews) "God's heritage".[41] This could be adduced,
incorrectly, as implying that the Jews lost their position as God's
chosen people in general, as if to deny God's blessing to all of
Judaism's traditions, history and culture. Recent expositions of the
Principle are more careful. "Outline of the Principle", in
its exegesis of Matthew 21, states that the vineyard means "the
work of God to accomplish the Ideal for the Creation."[42] This
clarifies that what has been passed on from the Jews of the Bible to
Christianity is specifically and only the special providential role
to receive the Messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent. After all, the
issue under discussion is the birthplace of the coming Lord. Matthew
21 is used to explain the transfer of this mission, and not the loss
of God's favor in general.

8. The State of Israel

Unificationists, like many other Christians, affirm the right of
Jews to live as a free people in the land of Israel. We believe that
God has given the land of Israel to the Jews as a blessing, as a sign
of love for His people after the suffering which they endured through
the Holocaust. Reverend Moon has stated:

The Unification Movement regards the Land of Israel as a haven for
the Holocaust survivors and a sanctuary for all those individual Jews
who are trying to escape physical persecution and religious, racial
or national oppression.[43]

However, we do not share the view of some evangelical Christians
that the restoration of the State of Israel is vital for
eschatology.[44] Rather, Jewish sovereignty in Israel is a
contemporary decree from the living God, who today is working in
world events to fulfill His providence. The restoration of the State
of Israel in our time is a sign of God's grace to the Jews and of the
continuing validity of His covenant with them. It also carries with
it the condition that Israel fulfill its God-given responsibility.
This includes, not least, the responsibility to establish peaceful
and fair relations with its neighbors.

Furthermore, we Unificationists can easily empathize with the
present situation of Israel because in many respects it parallels the
situation of South Korea. Both countries are small outposts of
democracy surrounded by hostile neighbors: just as the North Koreans
have been menacing the South, so the PLO and Arab states have
harrassed and invaded Israel many times in her brief existence. It is
only 20 miles from Jerusalem to the border with Jordan, and only 23
miles from Seoul to the DMZ. With these military threats so pressing,
both countries have had to maintain high levels of defense
preparedness.

Although the United Nations was instrumental in the birth and
preservation of both South Korea and Israel, these two nations have
since been isolated in international bodies and are targets of
Communist political and diplomatic activity. Both find the United
States to be their principal ally in spite of occasionally acerbic
relations. With such parallels, it is natural for us to support
Israel just as we support our religious homeland of Korea. We can
fully understand Israel's difficult political and military situation
and support efforts towards a peace in the Middle East that will
assure her secure existence.

9. On Evangelizing Jews

The Unification Church affirms its fidelity to the word of God to
"teach all nations" (Matt 28:19-20) and to spread the
message of the Principle to all people. All people, for their part,
have it within their original minds to seek the truth of God and to
deepen their relationship with Him. Both the practice of witnessing
to the truth and the human search for ever higher and more satisfying
truth are essential to the inalienable human right to religious
freedom. It is a tenet of the Principle that the acceptance of faith
must be a free act.[45] The Unification Church has always rejected
coercion in matters of faith, and will neither induce faith by
artificial or deceptive means nor condone the use of force by others
to cause apostasy through so-called "deprogramming".
Unificationists should also become aware of the intense antipathy to
evangelism that exists in the Jewish community. The Jewish community
is small and, with memories of the Holocaust still fresh, is
legitimately concerned for for the survival of the Jews as a people.
The Jewish people have long been the special prey of Christian
evangelists, whose zeal to missionize the Jews is based upon an
interpretation of the biblical statement that all Israel must come to
Christ (Rom 11:26).

However, we Unificationists have no special interest in converting
Jews; in fact the Principle teaches that today our first obligation
is to teach Christians to prepare to receive the Lord at the Second
Coming. "Outline of the Principle" states that all people,
and especially Christians, have the responsibility to attend the
Lord. It compares non-Christians who convert to the Unification faith
to the people from the street whom Jesus called to the marriage feast
when the invited guests refused to come (Matt 22:8-10).[46] They are
not the people whom God originally called, but come as a consequence
of the lack of faith of many of the leaders of Christianity.

Therefore, Unificationists should make no special effort to
evangelize Jews. Our first obligation is to teach other Christians,
and this in fact has been the continuing emphasis in our church. We
should respect the Jewish people's special heritage and unique faith,
according to the guidelines for dialogue discussed above. However, we
will not deny anyone the opportunity to learn the Principle, Jew or
non-Jew, and we will bring the message to whomsoever we meet that
seems prepared to receive it. Jews who are likely to join the
Unification Church are almost exclusively from among the
"unchurched". For the Unification Church to discourage them
from joining would be to deny the principle of freedom of religion
and to limit the working of the Spirit of God. Similarly, respect for
the freedom of conscience of its members requires that the
Unification Church not deny free access to rabbis, religious teachers
and family members for its adherents who are converts from Judaism.

The truth of the Principle exerts its force upon the individual
human conscience, creating a powerful inner experience of conversion.
When the person has been living a secular lifestyle, this conversion
can manifest itself in dramatic changes of behavior: a sudden
enthusiasm for religious ideas, selfless devotion to a cause, and
renunciation of worldly wealth and ambition. These can be perceived
as profoundly threatening to family and friends. Unfortunately, the
controversy has often been compounded when newly-converted
Unificationists are insensitive to their parents' legitimate
concerns. Reverend Moon has always expressed the profound importance
of loving our parents and families. He teaches that the bond between
children and their parents is eternal, and that there should be, in
principle, no contradiction between loving one's parents and serving
God's will:

What can you take the most pride in? You should feel the most
pride in your own mother and father who gave birth to you. In the
parental heart there is room for dreams not only about the children,
but for the nation and world. All parents want the best for their
children, thinking they will do great things. You have no idea what
dreams parents have for their children.[47]

Therefore, all Unificationists should be sensitive to the
difficulties that joining the Church may create for their families.
We should seek to create lines of communication and trust, with the
goal of restoring loving family relationships. Unificationists should
also be aware that similar misunderstandings occur in the case of
people from secular Jewish homes who convert to the most observant
sects of Orthodox and Hassidic Judaism. There is a similar quality of
intense religious commitment in every faith. Where there are
difficulties of communication between Church members and their
families, we may find that there are Jewish leaders who can help to
mediate in a spirit of toleration and respect for individual choice.

10. Conclusion

The Unification Movement is working and sacrificing to fulfill the
purpose of the one God, which is God's ideal of world peace and
brotherhood. God has been developing His providence for thousands of
years before the advent of this movement, laying foundations through
the histories of Judaism and Christianity. We must be grateful to the
spiritual foundations laid by the prophets, saints and sages of
Judaism and Christianity, upon which we stand. As Reverend Moon has
stated:

We in the Unification Movement consider ourselves the younger
brother of our Jewish and Christian brethren, all of whom are
children of our Heavenly Father. We regard it as our duty to respect
and to serve the elder sons of our Father, and it is our mission to
serve Judaism and Christianity by promoting love and unity among all
the children of God.[48]

Even though our doctrines differ, the God of all religions is One,
and His ultimate will, that is, to establish an ideal world of peace
and happiness, is one. We can trust that the God who guides us to do
His will is also guiding sincere Jews, and people of all religions
and people of conscience, to do likewise. Therefore, we will defend
the freedom of Jews and all people everywhere to practice their
beliefs. We will support the integrity and security of the State of
Israel. We wish to see Judaism prosper and grow, and ever continue to
light the world by its teaching and example. For our part we need to
better understand our Jewish brothers and sisters, and seek to
establish friendship and good relations in accord with the will of
God.

6. Members of the Unification Church often refer to the teaching
of the Church as the "Divine Principle", creating confusion
with a text of the same name. But the more correct name for the
teaching is simply "The Principle."

7. Outline, xxiv.

8. For a full list of doctrinal texts, see Michael L. Mickler, The
Unification Church in America, A Bibliography and Resarch Guide (New
York: Garland, 1987), 63-65.

14. Stoning, according to the Mosaic law, was the punishment for
blasphemy (Acts 7:58; see Lev 24:16, Deut 13:10). Thus the Bible
records that Stephen, when he was martyred, was stoned to death. If
Jesus had been punished by the Jewish authorities, his mode of
execution would also have been stoning.

17. Divine Principle, 368. Outline (p. 251) states that Jesus'
disciples "had only weakly believed in him" during his
lifetime.

18. Strictly speaking, Jesus' disciples were not called
"Christians" until that term was coined by the Gentiles as
a negative label, much like the word "Moonie" today. See
Acts 11:26.

19. Outline, 298.

20. Outline, 87.

21. Outline, 84-86.

22. Outline, 86-87.

23. Outline, 87.

24. Outline, 87-88.

25. Outline, 89. The phrase "most of the people" here
refers only to the Jews in Israel and Jerusalem, not to the vast
majority of Jews who lived throughout the Roman Empire in Jesus'
time. For more on John the Baptist, see Sun Myung Moon, "The New
Future of Christianity," (New York, September 18, 1974) in God's
Will and the World, 239-270.

26. Divine Principle, 146.

27. Divine Principle, 200.

28. Divine Principle, 359. The context of this passage is an
explanation of the ransom theory; the text goes on to say that Jesus
gave his body as a sacrifice on the cross to save the people who had
turned against him.

29. Outline, 79. The point here made by Unification theology is
doctrinal, not moral. It analyzes the direction of world history but
does not mean to impute collective guilt on any one people,
especially the Jews. See below.

30. Outline, 80.

31. For more on the doctrine of indemnity, see Sun Myung Moon,
"Total Indemnity", in God's Will and the World (New York:
HSA-UWC, 1985), 589-621. See also Chung Hwan Kwak, "Tang Gam,
the Real Meaning of 'Indemnity'", Today's World 5/6 (June,
1984), 13-15; and Andrew Wilson, "The Unification Doctrine of
Indemnity" in Deane William Ferm, ed., Restoring the Kingdom
(New York: Paragon House, 1984), 3-15.

39. The unity of Judaism and Christianity will require the working
out of deep historical resentments through an attitude of unselfish
love. Unification teaching describes this process of unification
according to the paradigm of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau. See
Andrew Wilson, "A Unification Position on the Jewish People",
Journal of Ecumenical Studies 20/2 (Spring, 1983), 202-205.

40. Outline, 309-10. In another context, Outline (pp. 122-123 and
illustration) explains how believers of all faiths, including
specifically modern Jews, will be gathered to cooperate with the Lord
of the Second Advent when he appears.

41. Divine Principle, 517. Another statement which should be
interpreted in the same way is found on p. 147.